Effect of different levels of dehydrated pineapple by-products on intake, digestibility and performance of growing goats

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the replacement of the Cynodon dactylon L. (Pers.) cv.“coast cross” hay (CCH) by dehydrated pineapple by-product (DPB-P) on performance, nutrients intakes and apparent digestibility coefficient with growing goats. Twenty-four crossbreed Saanen female goats were used, with average weight of 19.2 kg. The experimental design was completely randomized with four treatments, represented by the levels of CCH replacement by DPB-P in 0%, 33%, 66% and 100%. There was no effect (P > 0.05) of the different levels of CCH on the apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) of diets. The apparent digestibility coefficient of the organic matter (OM) and cellulose (CEL) increased linearly. The average consumption of digestible nutrients, expressed in g/kg LW0.75 for 0%, 33%, 66% and 100% CCH replacement by DPB-P was, respectively, 62.3, 63.5, 59.5 and 54.4 (DM); 60.4, 61.5, 57.9 and 51.8 (OM); 7.9, 7.8, 7.2 and 6.4 (CP); 24.8, 22.9, 21.6 and 18.7 (NDF), and 37.6, 27.8, 32.9 and 31.9 (CEL), resulting in weight gains of 204, 215, 198 and 196 g/day. It was concluded that the utilization of dehydrated pineapple by-product increased the coefficients of apparent digestibility of the nutrients, resulting in satisfactory weight gains to the animals. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.